Catheter placement unit

ABSTRACT

A catheter placement unit for the sterile insertion of a catheter into a body lumen through an incised opening in the lumen wall for parenteral infusion and other purposes, the unit having no cannulated needle, and embodying a longitudinally slit sheath with a catheter therein and an advancer connected to one end of the catheter and initially in axial alignment with said sheath to close an end thereof, the other end of said sheath being initially capped.

United States Patent Karl A. Pannier, Jr.

Salt Lake City, Utah;

James L. Sorenson, Salt Lake City, Utah 736,423

June 12, 1968 Feb. 2, 1971 bevoys, lne.

Salt Lake City, Utah a corporation of Utah Inventors Appl. No. FiledPatented Assignee CATHETER PLACEMENT UNIT 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. l28/214.4,

128/348 lnt.Cl. A6lm 5/00 Field of Search 128/214,

214.4, 348, I.C.( Digest); 206/632 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,185,152 5/1965 Ring l28/214.4 3,262,448 7/1966 Ring et al128/214.4

Primary Examiner-Dalton L. Truluck Attorney-Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross& Simpson ABSTRACT: A catheter placement unit for the sterile insertionof a catheter into a body lumen through an incised open ing in the lumenwall for parenteral infusion and other purposes, the unit having nocannulated needle, and embodying a longitudinally slit sheath with acatheter therein and an advancer connected to one end of the catheterand initially in axial alignment with said sheath to close an endthereof, the other end of said sheath being initially capped.

CATHETER PLACEMENT UNIT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of theInvention Pertains to the art of surgery, medicators, and particularlyto a dosing device in the form of a catheter placement unit forpositioning a catheter in a vein or other body lumen through an incisedopening in the lumen wall, without the aid of any fonn of a puncturingneedle telescopically associated with the catheter. The unit embodieseasily operable means for placing the catheter in the lumen whilemaintaining the catheter in a completely sterile condition duringplacing, and the catheter may be placed in the lumen while infusiontakes place. The unit is so constructed that it provides an exceedinglyeasy and rapid insertion of the catheter even under most extremeconditions.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore, catheters have been enclosedin a sheath having a slit extending lengthwise thereof so that thesheath could be disrupted as the catheter was advanced into a body lumenand then the sheath removed. A sheath of this character is shown in theRing et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,448 issued Jul. 26, 1966. However, inall such instances heretofore a needle has been telescopicallyassociated with the catheter and the puncture in the wall of the bodylumen was made by the needle and then the catheter advanced relativelyto the needle. However, there are a noticable percentage of emergencieswhere intravenous feeding or medication is indicated and a catheterplacement unit equipped with a needle cannot be utilized. In suchemergency the patient is in a state of deep shock and the attendingsurgeon is unable to find the vein, which is practically collapsed. Itis therefore necessary to reach the vein by surgery and incise the wallof the vein to provide an opening for the entrance of the catheter, andafter placement in the vein the catheter is usually sewn right to thevein the catheter is usually sewn right to the vein when the incision isclosed for later removal after the patienthas improved. Heretoforc, insuch cases extreme difficulty was undergone in maintaining sterilitySUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant invention or discovery embodies acatheter in a sheath in the form of a conduit having a slit lengthwisethereof which maintains the catheter in a sterile condition. A cap isplaced over the end of the sheath from which the catheter is advanced,and the catheter is connected to a small fitting which plugs the otherend of the sheath, this fitting being connected to a flexible tubehaving a fitting on the end thereof for connection to the line from aninfusion system. The fitting on the end of the catheter is soconstructed that it cannot accidentally come out of the sheath alongwith a portion of the catheter during advancement of the catheter and isalso so small as not to alarm a patient coming out of shock. Thecatheter is fully protected at all times during advancement, and theattending surgeon cannot touch the catheter during advancement and caneasily hold the sheath and advance the catheter regardless of thecontaminated condition of his hands or gloves. No assistant is requiredto place the catheter through an incised opening in a body lumen and thesterility of the catheter is completely maintained. The catheter couldbe BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a top plan view of acatheter placement unit embodying principles of this invention, showingthe same prior to use;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged part sectional part elevational view takensubstantially as indicated by the line ll-ll of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the position of the parts duringadvancement of the catheter; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially as indicated bythe line lV-IV of FIG. 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Itwill be understood that for purposes of clear presentation all FIGS. ofthe drawing are enlarged above the size the actual product is in mostinstances.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention includes the catheter sheath1 which is in the form of a conduit and has a slit 2 extendinglengthwise thereof. This conduit or sheath 1 is preferably made of anonwettable plastic material, preferably extruded, polyethylene beingone satisfactory material, in such a manner that it has an inherentresiliency which acts to maintain the slit 2 closed at all times, therebeing no physical seal necessary to maintain the sidewalls of the slitin contact. Such arrangement provides what may be termed asurfacetensioned seal, because the plastic not being wettable, surfacetension of any liquid, outside or within the sheath, prevents thatliquid from flowing through the relatively firmly closed slit. Theclosure of the slit is amply sufficient to preserve the sterility of thecontents of the sheath which in this instance, will only be a catheter 3and a portion of the fitting connected to it.

The catheter 3 is also preferably formed of a suitable plastic materialand is more flexible than is the sheath. The end of the sheath out ofwhich the catheter is advanced is initially closed by a suitable cap 4to preserve sterility until time for use. The other end of the sheath issubstantially closed by a tubular fitting 5 in one end of which thecatheter is firmly secured, and in the other end of which an end of atube 6 is firmly secured which tube terminates in a fitting 7 forconnection to an infusion'system, initially closed by cap 8.

The body portion of the fitting 5 is preferably cylindrical and of arelatively small diameter, but which is sufficient to be grasped by thethumb and finger of the attending surgeon and used to advance thecatheter. The diameter of the body of the fitting or advancer 5 can besubstantially the same as the outside diarneter of the sheath 1. Withreference more particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 it will be seen at theinner end of the fitting or advancer 5 there is a section of reduceddiameter providing a nipple 9 from which a still narrower neck 10extends terminating in a ball-shaped head 11 which maintains thecatheter within the sheath during advancement of the catheter. This head11 cannot be withdrawn from the sheath directly through the slit 2except by force much too great to be accidental.

When the unit is assembled, the nipple 9 of the catheter actuator 5 isinserted within the sheath. This insertion spreads the outer end of thesheath 1 slightly into a V-shaped opening 12, which is not sufficientlylarge to interfere with the retainment of sterility of the contents ofthe sheath. However, the opening 12 is visible to the attending surgeonand enables him to quickly locate the slit in the sheath and immediatelyhold the unit in the most advantageous position for advancement of thecatheter into the body lumen, usually with the slit held upperrnost.

In operation, the instantinvention is simple and effective. Afterincising the vein or body lumen in its practically collapsed condition,the catheter placement unit may be utilized by the same attendingsurgeon regardless of the soiled and I contaminated condition of hishands or gloves. The end cap 4 may be first be removed, then the end cap8 on the fitting 7 may be removed and the fitting 7 connected to aninfusion system. The infusion system may be turned on to flush out thecatheter to eliminate air and any sterilization sediment, the infusionsystem temporarily shut off and the end of the catheter entered into theincised opening in the body lumen. After the entrance of the catheterthe infusion system is preferably turned on again so that the flow ofthe infusion liquid will tend to open the collapsed body lumen ahead ofthe catheter and permit a smooth and adequate advancement of thecatheter into the lumen.

To advance the catheter into the body lumen it is a simple expedient forthe attending surgeon to grasp the sheath 1, the V-shaped opening 12enabling him to immediately properly position the sheath in his hands,elevate the advancer or fitting to the position seen in FIGS. 3 and 4and merely push it along the sheath with the catheter steadily advancinginto the lumen when the end of the sheath is reached it separates fromthe catheter advancer and is discarded leaving the catheter in theincised lumen and the only thing left exposed on the body of the patientis a relatively small fitting 5 which may be secured by adhesive tape tothe patients body. This requires a very short amount of time and theincision can be immediately closed with the catheter in the body lumen,permitting the entire wound to heal and the catheter may be pulled outafter the patient recovers sufficiently. All danger of infection of apatient by virtue of the positioning of the catheter is eliminated.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

We claim:

l. A catheter placement unit for sterilely advancing a catheter throughan incised opening in a body lumen without the aid of a needle cannula,including:

a sheath having a longitudinal slit therein extending throughout itsentire length;

a catheter in said sheath;

a straight tubular catheter advancer disposed in axial alignment withsaid sheath and initially closing one end of said sheath, the other endof said sheath presenting a blunt surface;

a reduced neck portion of said advancer extending into said one end ofsaid sheath to which an end of said catheter is firmly connected;

a retaining head on said neck portion of larger diameter than saidreduced neck and axially aligned therewith within said sheath preventingcomplete accidental lateral withdrawal of said portion of the advancerthrough the slit in said sheath during advancement of the catheter; and

said advancer being tipped relatively to said sheath out of axialalignment therewith to advance the catheter, so that said reduced neckportion rides along the slit while said head remains within the sheath.

2. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 including, a temporary capinitially closing the other end of said sheath and removable when theunit is put to use.

3. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 including:

a tube secured at one end in the outer portion of said advancer forconnection to an infusion system; and

a temporary cap closing said tube until the unit is put to use.

4. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 wherein said advancer is ofsubstantially the same outside diameter as said sheath.

5. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 wherein there is a slightvisible spreading of said sheath at the slit therein caused by saidadvancer portion extending therein and which acts as an indicator forquickly placing the unit in the proper position.

1. A catheter placement unit for sterilely advancing a catheter throughan incised opening in a body lumen without the aid of a needle cannula,including: a sheath having a longitudinal slit therein extendingthroughout its entire length; a catheter in said sheath; a straighttubular catheter advancer disposed in axial alignment with said sheathand initially closing one end of said sheath, the other end of saidsheath presenting a blunt surface; a reduced neck portion of saidadvancer extending into said one end of said sheath to which an end ofsaid catheter is firmly connected; a retaining head on said neck portionof larger diameter than said reduced neck and axially aligned therewithwithin said sheath preventing complete accidental lateral withdrawal ofsaid portion of the advancer through the slit in said sheath duringadvancement of the catheter; and said advancer being tipped relativelyto said sheath out of axial alignment therewith to advance the catheter,so that said reduced neck portion rides along the slit while said headremains within the sheath.
 2. The catheter placement unit of claim 1including, a temporary cap initially closing the other end of saidsheath and removabLe when the unit is put to use.
 3. The catheterplacement unit of claim 1 including: a tube secured at one end in theouter portion of said advancer for connection to an infusion system; anda temporary cap closing said tube until the unit is put to use.
 4. Thecatheter placement unit of claim 1 wherein said advancer is ofsubstantially the same outside diameter as said sheath.
 5. The catheterplacement unit of claim 1 wherein there is a slight visible spreading ofsaid sheath at the slit therein caused by said advancer portionextending therein and which acts as an indicator for quickly placing theunit in the proper position.